Smithsonian Museums

The Smithsonian Institution bills itself as “the world’s largest museum complex,” and it’s hard to imagine any other contenders. You could spend a good part of a month visiting all of its 18 Washington, D.C.-area attractions, and since they’re all free, you wouldn’t spend a cent (except for transportation, lunch, and of course, printing photos of your trip).

And, of course, no visit to Washington, D.C. would be complete without a trip to the National Zoo, where you can see orangutans swing overhead, birds catch food mid-flight, and seals do tricks for fish.

For more, visit the Smithsonian’s Visitor Information page on their web site. Click here for a pdf map of the Smithsonian Museums on the National Mall.

Comments

Parking around the mall can be extremely difficult. When we go downtown, we tend to loop several times around the Smithsonians until we eventually get lucky, but you’re probably better off parking in a garage a block or two off the mall. It’s a good hike from the Smithsonians to the Lincoln Memorial. You might consider an Old Town Trolley pass, or one of the other tour operators. These trolleys and buses circle around DC and visit all the major sites. You can hop off and hop on at any of their stops with a day pass.